During the same
period, the southern group increased from about ninety thousand to six
hundred thousand. By 1750 the thirteen colonies probably had a total
population of nearly fourteen hundred thousand. Since no census was taken
until 1790, these figures are only approximately correct.
Such development serves to show the trend of coming events. This remarkable
increase in population soon caused numbers to go farther west. This
movement resulted in collision with the French, who were at this time
holding the central part of the country, from the Gulf into Canada. One
other result followed. The colonies began to seem valuable to England
because they furnished a market for English manufactures and a carrying
trade for English ships. The previous comparative insignificance of the
colonies and the trouble in England had served to protect them, but their
trade had now assumed a proportion that made the mother country realize
what a valuable commercial asset she would have if she regulated the
colonies in her own interest.
SUMMARY
In this chapter we have traced the history of American colonial literature
from the foundation of the Jamestown Colony until 1754.
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